Harry Potter and the Time of the Training
by Shadow Phoenix of Slytherin
Summary: This is the prequel to 'Harry Potter and the Dark Phoenix'. What adventures did he, Draco and Fleur have? See how Harry changed from the small suffering boy to the confident young man he is in the Dark Phoenix! Who did he meet? What did he do? Find out!
1. The Unexpected Truce

**Hey guys! **

**This is the beginning of the prequel to 'Harry Potter and the Dark Phoenix' I know a lot of you are curious about the time Harry spent with Draco, Fleur and Narcissa. Lots of you have asked me several times about things he did, so I decided to start this prequel. I would be glad if some of you would work on it with me, but if there is no one avaiable I'll still write it. It'll just take me more time to update.**

**For all you who are wondering what the hell 'Harry Potter and the Dark Phoenix' is, don't worry. There's no need to read the story first. Quite the opposite actually. You enjoy the story more when you read this one at first! But I wouldn't mind you reading the other story as well, because this one is really just the beginning at the moment. xD**

**Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 1**

_Voldemort's red eyes flamed in the darkness. Harry saw his mouth curl into a smile, saw him raise his wand. _

_"__Accio!" Harry yelled, pointing his wand at the Triwizard Cup. It flew into the air and soared toward him. Harry caught it by the handle – _

_He heard Voldemort's scream of fury at the same moment that he felt the jerk behind his navel that meant the Portkey had worked - it was speeding him away in a whirl of wind and color, and Cedric's corpse along with him… he was safe._

_But… Voldemort was back._

_**...HPHPHP...**  
_

Harry groaned as he woke up under the familiar ceiling of the Hogwarts Hospital Wing and he tried to get out of the sheets that were tangled around his legs. Suddenly he heard a grunt and looked to his right only to find his bed curtains there. He drew them back and saw the form of Professor Moody – this time the real one – lying at the other side of the room. He blinked and reached for his glasses that lay on his nightstand.

He didn't bother to wait for Madam Pomphrey to check on him but stood up shakily. Harry noted with relief that he wore normal clothes and not the standard hospital gown, and looked out of the window. It was just dawn and he reckoned that it was between five and six AM.

He creped out of the Hospital Wing before the Healer realized that he was awake and moved quietly down the corridor. He didn't really know where to go and decided to take a stroll around the lake. When he passed the Entrance Hall he heard footsteps and hurried up a little bit. He opened the doors and breathed in the fresh morning air and sighed. The events of the last day came to his mind and he shook his head and slowly went to the Quidditch field where you could still see the maze from the third task.

He went through the locker rooms and was standing at the entrance of the maze within a few minutes. He struggled with the memories of Voldemort and Cedric's lifeless body and shuddered. He looked at the trophy that lay on the ground exactly where he had reappeared the evening before and kneeled by it. Harry didn't dare touch it again out of fear that it would bring him back to the graveyard. He flinched as he heard footsteps and raised his wand when they suddenly stopped behind him.

"Relax Potter," said a familiar voice and he turned around.

"Malfoy?" Harry asked in surprise and took a closer look at the other boy.

Malfoy looked like he hadn't slept in days and his normally perfectly styled hair stood up in every direction much like his own. His robes were a bit wrinkled and he didn't have his wand drawn so Harry lowered his own.

"What are you doing here?" Harry wanted to know suspiciously.

"I guessed that you would be here and came down." Malfoy hesitated. "I… want to talk to you about something."

"What?" asked Harry perplexed. "About what?"

Malfoy sighed and sat down on the soft grass. Harry too hesitated a moment then sat down facing him.

"You have to swear that you won't tell anybody about it!" said Malfoy pleading.

After a short while Harry nodded. This wasn't the Draco Malfoy he knew. "I… I swear."

"Good. So… yesterday… after you came back from the graveyard with Diggory's body - and I believe you when you say it was a graveyard- then… my father sent a letter to me." Harry nodded when Malfoy's voice faltered and he went on. "He… he wants me to become a Death Eater and I don't know what I should do… I had hoped that you… well that you could help me somehow."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "Why me? How should I be able to help you?"

"Because you are the bloody 'Boy-Who-Lived' and all that!" said Malfoy a little bit louder but didn't look at him.

Harry rubbed his head. "I… well I don't know what to say… I didn't expect that you of all people didn't want to become a Death Eater. I mean… no offence, but you always go around like Voldemort's junior brigade."

Malfoy sighed. "I know… but it's just because of my father. I had to act like a total moron and little junior killer; otherwise he would have punished me."

"And what changed your opinion?" Harry wanted to know curiously.

"My mother's now divorced. Yesterday it became official… although not by magic, and I live with her now. Father's still able to come into our house but he no longer has the right to tell me what to do. I… my mother's really happy now and nothing's more important to me than that it stays like this. She may not look like it in public, but she abhors 'You-Know-Who' and his actions."

Now that was a real surprise for Harry! He had met Narcissa Malfoy at the Quidditch World Cup and she looked like she was just another one of those proud and arrogant purebloods. But then again… Malfoy didn't seem to be what he always led Harry to believe either.

"What do you want to do about it then?" he asked the blonde Slytherin.

Malfoy looked up. "I want to train to fight against the Dark Lord! When my father finds out that mother and I are against this pureblood hierarchy he will be furious and I can tell you that he won't hesitate to kill my mother and me. I rather hoped that… that you could help me with this task."

"How would this work out? The day after tomorrow when the train arrives at King's Cross I'll be locked away at my relative's house until someone decides to let me come over."

"You could stay at my house," suggested Malfoy and Harry's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"Are you serious?" he asked loudly.

Draco smirked. "No. Sirius is that mutt of my cousin who runs around here somewhere in his animagus form. My name's Draco."

Harry stared at him, mouth agape and then burst out into laughter but stopped when he realized something.

"You know about Sirius' animagus form and didn't tell anybody?"

Malfoy nodded. "In third year… you know… after Granger punched me in the face…," Harry chuckled a bit. "After that, shortly before the train's departure I saw the huge black dog an immediately knew that it was Sirius."

"But Malfoy… how?"

"My mum… she was on very good terms with him when they were in school. Not like my Aunt Bellatrix and the other Slytherins. She found out about his transformation in her seventh year and told me when he broke out of Azkaban last year."

"I see," mused Harry. "But your father's going to kill me on the spot if I stay at your house!"

Draco shook his head. "My mother and I are staying in an old manor in France for the holidays. Father probably will still come sometimes, but we will be alerted when he does."

"So you really believe Voldemort's back?" Harry asked quietly. "And you want us to train together to fight against him?"

"I do," Draco said.

"And so do I," said a girl's voice with a heavy accent behind them.

Harry and Draco whirled around and stared at the person who came across the field towards them and sat down on the grass. It was Fleur Delacour, the Beauxbatons' Champion.

"What?" Harry and Malfoy asked simultaneously.

"I 'eard what 'ou were talking about. And I vant to fight 'im too," answered Fleur. "I believe 'ou when 'ou say zat Voldemort eez back."

"Ah, Fleur this is nice but… how?" asked Malfoy.

Fleur chuckled. "Ahh, but 'ou forget zat I live in Francé. And I owe 'Arry somezing because 'e rescued ma zister Gabrielle."

Harry and Draco looked at each other and shrugged before they smiled at her.

"Then I look forward to seeing you at France Mannor, Fleur. You can reach it by floo. You'll be keyed to the network," said Malfoy. "And by the way Potter… my name is Draco, got it?"

Harry smiled slightly. "But only when my name is Harry."

"I meet you zen at ze station of ze 'Ogwarts Express," said Fleur who stood up smiling.

The two boys nodded and stood up as well. Fleur kissed them each on the cheek and left.

Harry turned around too but was stopped by Malfoy.

"Thank you… Harry."

Despite not understanding it himself, Harry's smile grew. "No problem Draco."

**...HPHPHP...**

The weather could not have been more different on the journey back to King's Cross than it had been on the way to Hogwarts the previous September. There wasn't a single cloud in the sky and Harry had managed to get a compartment to himself. It wasn't that he didn't want to talk to Ron and Hermione, but he felt really awkward around them at the moment.

Ron would always throw questioning and pitying looks at him, but didn't pry for information and Hermione carefully avoided talking about Voldemort – when she was not trying to unobtrusively cheer him up that was.

He sighed softly and massaged his temples to lessen the constant throbbing he felt in his head. The train would reach King's Cross in a little less than ten minutes. Harry slowly stood up and placed his trunk and Hedwig near the door. Just at this moment it opened and the two familiar faces of his best friends peered inside. Harry blinked and then gave each of them a small smile.

They both tentatively smiled back.

"Hey mate," said Ron and stepped over the trunk. "Can we at least give you a little more company now? You've been alone in here for six hours!"

Harry nodded. "Sure… suit yourself. But don't expect me to be that talkative at the moment."

"Harry…" started Hermione uncomfortably. "you know… I don't think that it's very clever to shut yourself off from the people around you."

With a slight glare Harry looked at her. "Hermione, what d'you expect from me? For the last two weeks everybody I met asked me if I could tell them how Cedric died! Asked me if I could tell them if Voldemort 's really back, if I fought him. _Don't_ tell me it's a surprise for you that I'm feeling a little anti-social because of that!"

"Well… I…" Hermione sighed. "I'm sorry. I understand completely how you feel."

Harry shook his head and his eyes softened when he answered her: "No, you don't. And I honestly hope you never will…"

The train slowed down and they all stood in awkward silence. Harry shook his head and went out into the hallway to wait for the train to stop. He stepped onto the platform as soon as the doors opened.

Without spending really much time he stepped through the wall and was standing on the muggle platforms nine and ten.

Before he really could look around Mrs. Weasley hugged Harry very tightly when she saw him and whispered in his ear, "I think Dumbledore will let you come to us later in the summer. Keep in touch, Harry."

After that she went to hug Ron, who stepped through the wall, followed by Hermione.

"See you. Harry," said Ron, clapping him on the back.

"'Bye, Harry!" said Hermione, and she did something she had never done before: she kissed him on the cheek. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you as well…" Harry touched his cheek and felt himself getting slightly red as he watched her go with her parents. Suddenly he heard snickering behind him and turned around.

Malfoy was standing next to two women Harry had never seen before and had a smirk plastered on his face. With narrowed eyes Harry ignored him for a short while and looked around. No sooner as his eyes fell on the entrance he spotted his Uncle waddling trough it.

Without much thought he spun around and marched over to Malfoy and the two woman. The younger one of them had very short black hair and was wearing some black pants and a very long red shirt with a broad belt around her waist.

The older one had mousy brown hair and was wearing glasses. She looked to be in her thirties and was wearing a simple blouse and jeans.

"Harry Potter, it's nice to meet you," the latter one said and then lowered her voice. "I'm Narcissa, Draco's mother."

"I guess it's nice to meet you as well," answered Harry a little unsure and then looked at the other woman.

"Bonjour 'Arry," she said in a melodical voice and he knew immediately that it was Fleur Delacour.

"Hey," Harry nodded to her and then noticed that his trunk was no longer beside him and he was only looking at Hedwig and her cage now.

He whirled around to find it but couldn't. Suddenly Mrs. Malfoy spoke again: "Don't worry I shrunk it so that it's easier to carry. I apologize if this startled you. Well… I believe we should go now."

Harry just nodded dumbly and Draco snickered once more. He glared at him, but the blond Slytherin just ignored him while Fleur smiled softly to herself.

They comfortably walked out of the station and Harry felt some of the people looking at him and his owl strangely. His nose curled slightly. He probably looked really silly with his shirt and pants that both were at least three sizes too big for him. And then carrying an owl… that didn't really help.

"Tell me, 'Arry. I didn't know zhat 'ou 'ad a girlfriend?" asked Fleur.

"I- what? I don't have a girlfriend!" he replied perplexed and she frowned.

"Oh? But what about zat girl… 'Ermine she is called?"

Harry started spluttering and frantically shook his head. "Hermione's my best friend! But definitely not my girlfriend! What gave you that idea?"

Now Draco decided to say something as well. "She acts like she's your girlfriend, Po- Harry. She's worried about you, she's fussing over you, she's bossy as hell, she hugs you, she kissed you on the cheek just now-"

Harry scowled at him and surprisingly he shut up and looked at him. "What? No insults that she's a mudblood and an ugly know-it-all?"

The blond sighed. "P- Harry I've told you two weeks ago… I'm not a blood-purist. Quite the contrary actually. I don't have anything against muggles. I just don't understand half of the stuff they're doing."

With a shake of his head Harry stared down at Hedwig, who was peacefully sleeping in her cage. "I can't believe this all was just an act…"

Narcissa, who was walking in front of them, looked back. "Harry… please believe my son when he tells you that he just acted like he did to protect himself."

"I'd like to, but… I'm not even sure if I can trust _you. _So how should I trust _him?_ Someone who insulted me ever since I first set foot into Hogwarts? It's not easy to trust Mal- well… Draco because just two weeks ago he always wanted to bring harm to me and my friends."

"D'you really believe I would've harmed you seriously?" asked Draco quietly and Harry eyed him from the side. Just like two weeks ago, nothing reminded him of the pampered junior Death Eater he had gotten to know.

"Well, come in you all. We need to use the floo to get to the manor," interrupted Mrs. Malfoy and only now realized that they entered the Leaky Cauldron.

"You certainly tried to get me expelled often enough," retorted Harry when Tom asked them if they wanted to order something. They all shook their heads and went to the big fireplace. "Not to forget all the times you tried to hex me into oblivion – not that you'd ever be able to."

Draco snorted. "Sure! I could beat you in a duel anytime!"

Harry shook his head and held his hand out when Mrs. Malfoy offered him some floo-powder. He watched a little warily when Fleur threw hers into the fire and stepped into the green flames.

"France Manor!" she said clearly but quietly.

"I don't think so," said Harry quietly and Draco looked at him with a raised eyebrow when his mother also disappeared in the green flames.

"What do you mean? Of course I could beat you!" Draco stuck his nose into the air. "Why should it be a problem for me?"

"I survived against Voldemort," said Harry quietly. "I don't know about you, but I guess that's reason enough for me to say that you wouldn't win in a duel."

Draco shuddered slightly and looked at him. Then he shook his head and gestured to the fireplace. "Step trough. We haven't got all day."

Harry reluctantly threw the powder into the flames and whispered his destination. He closed his eyes and hoped, that he really did the right thing.

**...HPHPHP...**

Harry stumbled out of the fireplace and painfully landed on his knees. Narcissa and Fleur smiled at him and the latter one helped him to his feet. He felt his face heating up and scowled when Draco gracefully stepped out of the fire behind him.

He looked around and nearly whistled. Harry was standing in a beautifully decorated living room with a dark wooden floor and cream-colored walls. To his right was a very comfortable looking seating area consisting of a large dark green sofa with fluffy cream-colored cushions and two matching armchairs. A very expensive looking Berber carpet was located in front of a dark wall unit with several glass cabinets that displayed things Harry had never seen before. Beautiful paintings adorned the walls and warm rays of sunlight shone through three large windows with green curtains to his left.

All in all Harry felt as if he was standing in a room, where the Queen would enjoy drinking her tea. His eyes snapped back to the fireplace when Draco stepped out of it.

"Father isn't here then?" asked Draco and Harry's eyes widened slightly.

Narcissa shook her head. "No he'll probably won't stop by for quite some time."

"You mean your father can enter this house?" Harry glared at Draco. "I thought you said he and your mother were divorced now! Or was that all a lie to lure me into a trap?"

Draco rolled his eyes and even Fleur shook her head with a sigh. Narcissa meanwhile had started to enlarge his trunk once more and placed it next to Fleurs that was already standing near one of the doors.

"This house _is_ property of the Malfoys," answered Draco coolly. "My... father knows that mother and I are staying here. You must understand, that the divorce is only on paper for now. My parents gave each other a magical vow when they married, so until the Head of the House of Black dissolves the magical contact they're basically still husband and wife."

"So... what will you tell your father when he sees me strolling around here?", asked Harry sarcastically. "Tell him I'm Harry Potter's evil twin who wants to join Voldemort?"

Draco snickered. "It's a possibility, yes."

"Hush Draco," said Narcissa and gestured them to sit down on the sofa while she herself took a seat on one of the armchairs. "I've slightly changed the wards around this manor and they will alert us when Lucius is near. While he is here you, Harry, and Fleur will hide under your Invisibly cloak."

"How d'you...?" asked Harry startled and Draco grinned broadly.

"Seriously Harry! Do you think I'm stupid? When I saw your head floating around in Hogsmead in third year I just put two and two together. Believe me, I couldn't believe it myself at first that you own such a rare magical object."

"And you simply decided to blurt it out to your mother?" snapped Harry. "I start to believe that I made a mistake when I agreed to all of this!"

Narcissa sighed. "Harry... I understand your strong distrust and certainly will not try to force you to stay here. But... be sure that no one of us intends to cause you any harm. Lucius knows nothing of all of this and I hope it stays that way. So... I would be forever in your deept if you stayed here and helped Draco with his training. I... I want him to be able to defend himself against the Dark Lord if the need to do so arises and... you... you, who faced him four times already... you probably are the only person who can really help him with that."

Harry looked at her for a long time and couldn't see anything in her eyes except total sincerity and worry, so he nodded then. "I'll stay... for now."

"Thank you," she whispered and gave him a kind smile.

"So... 'ow are we going to train and w'at exactly are we going to do?" asked Fleur who had been quiet until now.

Draco groaned. "I haven't thought about that part to be honest... I don't have a clue what we should do in this short amount of time!"

Harry frowned. "And I have to be back at the Dursleys in four weeks, because then I'll be going to the Weasleys for the rest of the summer and... I'd rater they found not out about our little truce. At least not until I'm sure that I can really trust you."

"So we've only got four weeks?" asked Fleur with disbelief. "Zat is not enough to learn anyzing useful!"

Suddenly Narcissa went over to one of the cupboars and took out a small bag. She then returned with a slight smile on her face. "I've thought about that as well. Even when Harry didn't have to leave in four weeks the holidays wouldn't be enough to learn something. So... maybe this little thing will help."

She sat down again and waved her wand over the bag. Harry guessed that there were some spells on it to hinder someone on opening it.

"This," continued Narcissa and Harry's eyes widened when she took a very familiar looking hour-glass out of her bag, "is my time-turner. I know that you three want to train together to fight against the Dark Lord, so you should use it. Four weeks are not enough time, but… maybe a year is."

Draco gasped and looked at his mother. "You… we would be able to fit a whole year into four weeks? And where did you get this? Why didn't you tell me you own one?"

Narcissa nodded. "We have to move around of course, or else we would run into ourselves, but it is possible. This time-turner is special" she looked down to the floor slightly ashamed. "It's property of the Black family for over five-hundred years now. One of my ancestors… stole it out of the Ministry after he heard what this little thing can do"

Harry eyed the hour-glass. It didn't look any different than the one he and Hermione had used to rescue Sirius in their third year. And he had heard from Hermione that a time-turner was only able to bring one back twenty-four hours. He frowned and looked over to Fleur, who's expression clearly showed her own disbelief.

Narcissa, who saw their expressions smiled slightly and pointed at some engravings that were located on small plates on the fine chain. "Those are runes that make it possible to go back more than twenty-four hours. Those runes – please don't ask me what they say – allow one to go back in time for a maximum of two weeks"

Harry felt his jaw drop. "Two weeks? Bloody fucking hell! Are you kidding me?"

Narcissa scrunched her nose up. "Language, Harry. I don't tolerate the use of such a vile language in my presence. Please refer from using words like that again."

He snapped his mouth shut and automatically apologized. He looked at Narcissa, who looked back with a slightly raised eyebrow. She had an awfully lot reminded him of Snape at that moment and he knew better than to argue with people like him. Even though he had done it a lot up to now… but he didn't want to make his stay with the Malfoys and Fleur uncomfortable.

"Draco, would you go and bring their things into their rooms?"

Harry expected Draco to protest immediately with something like 'I'm no houselve, I refuse to lift one finger!' but nothing came. Instead of that, Draco simply nodded and Harry watched with slight wonder as Draco used his wand to levitate the enlarged trunks out of the room.

He turned back to Narcissa. "I thought students aren't allowed to use magic outside school."

She nodded and conjured four cups and a tea-pot. "This rule only applies for magical children that live in a muggle-environment. And... Lucius ensured that Draco could practice magic in the summer as well. He..." she made a face, "let's say he gave the Ministry a very generous donation for that."

"So... vill 'ou be training wiz us Mrs. Malfoy?" asked Fleur.

She nodded a little hesitantly and turend to Harry. "I would like to know... have you studied Arithmancy and Ancient Runes at Hogwarts."

Harry shook his head. "No. I chose Divination and Care of Magical Creatures in third year."

Narcissa shook her head and looked at him in disbelief. "Divination? Who... why in Merlin's name did you choose this utterly useless subject?"

He sighed and shrugged. "I often ask myself the same question... I guess I just wanted to have a subject where I could easily archieve good grades."

"I don't doubt it," mumbled Narcissa and Harry felt slightly offended by that. "However... it would be incredibly useful to have a knowledge of both of this branches of magic, because Ancient Runes and Arithmancy are essential for learning wards and such."

He titled his head. "I don't want to be rude, but what's your point?"

"Would you," Narcissa continued and also looked at Fleur, "would you two be willing to study those subjects for the next year? Just if you decide to use the time-turner of course." she hastily added after that.

Harry thought about it for a while and then thought back to when he had met Bill Weasley. He remembered that he had said he was a Curse-Breaker and worked a lot with wards and runes. He nodded slowly. "Yes... I guess it would be useful to learn them... but how?"

She smiled and Harry could swear it looked a little bit malicious when she said: "Then prepare yourself for a very tough schedule. I'll teach you both, but I'm very strict."

Harry gulped slightly and once more wondered what he had gotten himself into when he had agreed to all of this. He looked down at his hands and realized that he long had decided to stay here and use the time-turner. A small smile appeared on his face when he thought about all the extra time he now had in front of him to train. He silently swore to himself, that he would never let something happen to those around him. Guilt made it's way into his mind when he thought about Cedric and he sighed. _'I hope this is the right thing to do...'_

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**So? Did you like it so far? Tell me what you thing and give me a review!**

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**Dark Phoenix of Slytherin**


	2. The Morning Afterwards

**Hey guys! **

**Here is the second chapter of my Dark Phoenix Prequel! I hope you like it. And don't forget the Reviews!  
**

**Enjoy!**

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'**BANG'**

Harry started awake. '_By god… what's that?'_

'**BANG', 'BANG'**

Without his glasses, he had no chance of making out distinctions of the room, but he knew he was undoubtedly back at Privet Drive. Where else could one wake up to such a gloriously rude pounding of their bedroom door?

With a sigh he closed his eyes again and draped an arm over his eyes to get rid of the unusual large beam of sunlight that hit his face. He lay still in the bed, hoping the noise wouldn't repeat itself. Ah… he was in luck. Snuggling deeper into the strangely comfy blankets, Harry sighed.

'_I've never slept that comfortably at the Dursleys' before… Maybe they've finally decided to buy me some new bed sheets.'_ He had no desire to leave his comfortable place at the moment.. Nothing could ruin this perfect moment of bliss between sleep and wakefulness…

'**BANG', 'BANG', 'BANG'**

'_Holy mother of-! What the hell?'_

Jolted by the unexpected return of the persistent door-abuser, Harry reluctantly forced himself to crack an eye open. It was probably Aunt Petunia wanting him to cook an entire pig for breakfast for her dugong and walrus of a son and husband. Sweating, sizzling, pink, burnt animals weren't exactly Harry's favourite way of starting the holiday mornings - although the bacon was something to look forward to… when he was allowed some.

"Harry! Can you _please_ come out now? Mother's getting impatient. She's got breakfast ready and we're waiting for you for nearly an hour!"

Harry shot upright. He blinked. That was most definitely not Aunt Petunia. And sure as hell neither were it Dudley or Vernon. Who the hell…?

After scrambling blindly for his glasses, the first thing he did, was looking at his surroundings – the expensive furniture and the valuable bed lining made out of dark red silk and the large window on the opposite wall definitely were not part of his décor in Privet Drive – and suddenly he remembered.

He was at France Manor and the one hammering on the door was none other than Draco Malfoy.

He groaned slightly into his pillow. What had he gotten himself into? _'How could I've agreed to all this? This just can't end well!'_ he thought with dread and scrambled out of bed.

"Damn it Potter! Do I have to break that door down? Get your ass out of bed! NOW!"

Despite himself Harry had to chuckle at that. He had never heard Malfoy – not even when he had insulted him and his friends – that enraged. He debated whether to let the blond Slytherin get himself riled up more, but decided against it.

Why make his life more difficult than it already was?

"I'm up!" he called when his bare feet touched the soft green carpet in front of his bed. He marveled at the softness and closed his eyes before yawning widely. "And stop with that hammering! It's annoying! I've got to change first, so bugger off!"

An angry huff was his answer and the following footsteps told him that Draco had left.

Harry then frowned when his eyes fell on his trunk that was resting in front of a large wardrobe. He hadn't bothered to unpack the day before and didn't really feel comfortable with the thought of his things lying around in the manor. It was much quicker to simply grab his trunk and take a run for it when something happened instead of having to search for everything.

He stumbled slightly and tried to find a decent shirt, but of course it was impossible. At least at Hogwarts, he had the uniform that actually fitted him, to wear everyday, and the robes to cover up his mangy old batty clothes on the weekends. The only thing he found that could be called 'something' to wear was a grey t-shirt that was three sizes too big for him. He sighed and threw it over his head. After that he reluctantly slipped into some oversized jeans and grumpily stared at his reflection in the mirror near the door.

He shook his head when his thoughts travelled to the other occupants of the house – or more specifically – their clothing. "Great… I bet my whole day will consist of listening to insults to my appearance… and styling-tips!" He gulped when he remembered that Fleur was there as well and always seemed to look perfect. _'Wonderful… I sure fit in here…'_

He didn't even try to flatten his hair – having deemed it a lost cause since he was five - and then slowly made his way outside into the large hallway. His wand tightly clutched into his hand, he carefully drunk in his surroundings, trying to determine if there was any form of danger lurking in the shadows.

Then, before he set foot on the large black staircase leading down to entrance hall and therefore – at least he hoped so – the dining-room and the kitchens, his eyes fell on one of the large windows.

Harry stared out of it in dazed amazement. Right in front of him was a beautiful, flawless view of what he thought could only be an exact replica of the Botanic Gardens.

Black and white slabs of marble artfully winded themselves around huge, pristinely kept hedges and bushes. Looking out further, Harry's eyes followed the black and white path as it winded out invitingly, drawing his eyes to the most majestic rose bush he had ever seen. It had been pruned into a diamond shape and was centered perfectly in the middle of a ball of hedges.

Harry frowned for a moment, struck by the oddity of the rose's place. Suddenly his eyes widened in disbelief. He had been so caught up in the perfection of the garden, and following the winding hedges, that he didn't see the overall effect.

He was staring a spectacular, _massive_ hedge sculpture of an incredibly detailed emerald snake. Harry was so enraptured by the view that he didn't hear the person behind him approaching.

"Enjoying the view?" asked Draco, smirking slightly.

Harry jumped and spun at Draco's voice. He gazed at the Slytherin with wide eyes.

"It's amazing!" Harry said breathlessly. "You did a great job!"

"Well… thanks, I guess. I didn't do anything, but thanks anyway."

Harry rolled his eyes. He decided that he'd better stop acting like a wide-eyed little girl otherwise Draco might retract his offer of letting him stay here to train.

"So, breakfast's ready?" asked Harry, collecting himself and wrenching his eyes away from the window.

Draco gave a slow blink, which somehow, was strangely insulting. "It's been ready for about an hour now…" he said a bit grumpily, hunger starting to affect his temper.

Harry looked down sheepishly. "Sorry about that. I wasn't used to such a comfy bed, especially during the holidays. I thought I was still at Hogwarts for a while."

**...HPHPHP...**

A short time later they reached the dining hall and Harry took in the impossibly long table in the centre of the room. He had a fleeting image of what a conversation would be like between two people at opposite ends during a meal. So many sentences could be misheard quite dramatically. Harry smiled at the thought, just as Narcissa noticed them.

"Ah Harry, you're finally up. Did you sleep ok?"

"Yes, I did, thanks." Harry said nervously, still slightly wary of her due to her previous alliances.

She seemed to pick up on this. She came over and placed a comforting hand on his arm and waited for him to meet her gaze. Harry eyed her hand for a short moment and then looked up into her pale blue eyes, almost seeing himself reflected in them.

"I meant what I said about looking after you and training you. I am no more willingly affiliated with You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters than you Harry. "

Watching her face carefully, even though Harry was by no means skilled in legilimency, there was no way that he could doubt her sincerity.

Harry blinked and smiled hastily. He nodded and the somber mood was lifted. He then realized, that no one was sitting down on the large table, but rather heading outside through a large glass-door. Harry followed slowly and a larger smile made its way to his face when he found himself on a giant veranda with a direct view on the wonderful garden.

He peered around Narcissa, who was levitating a pan with eggs and nodded at Fleur, who was already sitting.

"Good morning, 'Arry," she smiled.

Harry kept his words to a minimum and Draco, Harry noticed, didn't seem to know how to act around him and Fleur, whereas Mrs. Malfoy proofed herself to be a wonderful host.

She was talking animatedly with the French girl, who was looking around the garden after each bite of food.

"Ze flowers are simply _merveilleux!"_, the young woman exclaimed with an energetic nod and Harry had to smile at her enthusiasm. "Who tendz 'em?"

Narcissa blushed a little bit and looked at her hands that, Harry noticed, had small scratches on them. "I do. There's not much to do here with Draco being at Hogwarts nearly the whole year and my… husband being away all the time."

She smiled and held her hands up so that Fleur could also see the small scratches. "As you can see the roses don't practically like to be cut and I prefer not to do it with magic. It's soothing."

Harry heard an exasperated sigh and looked at Draco who shook his head and then looked at his mother. "You should be more careful mother… what if one of the cuts gets infected?"

Narcissa's smile turned a little teasing while Harry raised the glass of water, he had only now discovered, to his mouth. "Draco, just because you once landed in those roses with your behind after falling off your broom - and caused my ears to ring for days because of your screaming, mind you - doesn't mean they're dangerous."

Harry chocked on his water while Draco blushed a really nice shade of pink and hid his head between his hands with a groan. "Mother… d'you think that was appropriate?"

"Oh shush, Draco," chuckled Narcissa and waved her hand to clean the table when all of them had finished and threw Harry, who was still coughing a sidelong glance. "There's no need to be so formal. Your father isn't here after all."

She waved her wand in Harry's direction and he tensed. Seconds later he realized, that his coughing had stopped and smiled softly. "Thanks."

"You're welcome, Harry."

Narcissa stood up and when Draco and Fleur did the same, Harry quickly rose to his feet as well. Fleur excused herself saying that she still had to take a shower and left Harry standing in the kitchen with two Malfoys looking at him.

Draco's nose suddenly scrunched up when he looked him up and down. "Merlin! What the hell are you wearing?"

He shrugged a little helplessly, wondering that Malfoy had not earlier started to nag on his appearance. "Clothes… I guess…"

"Clothes?" Draco asked in disbelief. "I'm sorry, but you can't honestly call those elephant-skins 'clothes'! Did you dress yourself with your eyes closed?"

Harry flinched slightly and once more shrugged, feeling really uncomfortable now when he saw Narcissa's gaze weaver between confusion, anger and something he could not define.

"It's all I have," he answered with a shrug and Draco raised his eyebrows, while Narcissa slowly walked over to him.

"What do you mean?" she asked frowning slightly while shaking her head. "I'm sure you have more fitting clothes than that. Your relatives must have bought you some decent clothes."

"They haven't," replied Harry, clenching his fists and deliberately avoiding her or Draco's eyes. "I only ever got my cousins cast-offs."

"But you're Harry bloody Potter!" exclaimed Draco and this time Narcissa didn't reprimand him for his language. "They must treat you like a god!"

"That's what Snape's spewing around, isn't it?" spat Harry, suddenly angry and flashed him a glare. "Well, news-flash! They treat me like I'm a bloody houself! If they could've had it their way, they would've let me freeze to death on their doorstep or _accidently_ drowned me in the bathtub! If that wasn't enough already, they didn't even want me to go to Hogwarts because that would mean I couldn't do their chores any longer. On top of that, with me going to Hogwarts Dudley had his favorite punching-bag taken away from him and Vernon had to suffer for having a freak in their perfect little family!"

He took a deep breath and then his eyes widened. Had he really just spilled out the secrets he had desperately wanted to keep for the rest of his life? Not even Ron and Hermione knew about his life at the Dursleys! Sure, after Ron and his brothers had broken him out of his room shortly before second year, they had known that he wasn't really on friendly terms with his only living relatives, but he hadn't told them anything specific!

His hands clenched into fists and he angrily shook his head when he saw Narcissa and Draco throw disbelieving looks at each other. He whirled around to go back to the room he had slept in and nearly jumped when Narcissa gently put a hand on his shoulder, holding him back. "Harry… why haven't you told anybody before?"

He stopped walking, but didn't answer her.

Narcissa gently took one of his hands into hers and squeezed it. She simply left it at that. She didn't say anything and after a short moment, Harry awkwardly shifted around to look at the blond woman.

Over her shoulder he saw Draco pacing up and down in front of the big fireplace, shaking his head and mumbling to himself. Alone the fact, that Draco now knew about his not really pleasant home-life made heat rose to his cheeks.

"Harry?", Narcissa asked softly. "I…", she looked over her shoulder, to her son, "_We_ only want to help."

He shrugged his shoulders. "What was I supposed to do? If I had told anyone it would only have been another way of seeking attention. I'm a mentally unstable wannabe Dark Lord after all."

He was startled when Draco forcefully kicked the leg of a chair, making it fall to the ground. "Don't use the shit the Daily Prophet is sprouting as an excuse to cover up abuse!"

"I don't… I…" Harry didn't know what to say. He sure as hell hadn't expected Draco Malfoy of all people to react like that. "Well… at least it wasn't really bad for the last four years…" he said lamely.

"Harry…" said Narcissa slowly and forced him to look at her with a gently tug of his chin. "Have they… beaten you? Or hurt you physically in any other way?"

His eyes widened and he frantically shook his head. "No! Apart from an occasional slap for misbehavior they didn't raise a hand against me! They were a real pain, but they didn't sink _that_ low!"

He mentally shook his head. Sure, his relatives weren't very nice people, but they _really_ didn't sink low enough to beat a child. And as for Dudley, Harry knew that Vernon and Petunia had no idea of what their son was really like, so he couldn't blame them for his cousin using him as a punching-bag.

Narcissa's eyes hardened. "That settles it then. The first thing we'll be doing when you boys have finished your schoolwork is to get you some decent clothes Harry."

He shook his head. "But there's no need to-"

"Oh, hogwash!", said Narcissa and waved her hand in dismissal, before giving him a look that clearly told Harry that arguing with her would be fruitless. "You're a future Lord and therefore have to keep up appearances. You can't always run around like a beggar. It will only shame the name of Potter."

Harry's eyes widened. "Excuse me? _Future Lord?_ What the hell's that supposed to mean?"

"Language," reminded Narcissa him automatically while exchanging a scandalized look with Draco. "Dear, why don't you fetch your and Harry's stuff so that you can start your schoolwork as soon as possible? I think… this will take a little longer."

"Sure mother," answered Draco and disappeared trough the door.

Harry gulped when the aristocratic woman gestured him to follow her and led him into the big living-room he had arrived in yesterday. She sat down in one of the comfortable armchairs near the window and eyed him, while he slowly did the same.

"No one told you?"

"Told me what?", asked Harry a little exasperated.

"You're the last member of a very old family. The Potters are said to be around since the founding of Hogwarts and even before that! Together with the Blacks, the Longbottoms, the Lestranges, the Malfoys, the Wilkes, the Gibbons, the Montagues and - as strange as it may sound for you – the Weasleys, are the Potters one of the oldest families in our land. If not the oldest. Your family is part of the hereditary peerage of Magical Great Britain!"

Harry stared at her. "And?"

"For Merlin's sake, Harry," said Narcissa with a sigh. "You, as the heir to such a noble and ancient family will have certain responsibilities when you're of age. First and foremost you have to know that you will immediately be established as the Head of the House of Potter in lack of an older member of the family when you turn seventeen. You will for example have to take a seat in the Wizengamont, do social visits and give statements to current events concerning the magical world. Basically you will have a lot of political influence."

She looked a little exasperated then. "For all that's holy, you're expected to meet the Queen at least once!"

Harry shook his head in disbelief. "How was I supposed to know that? And- wait! Meet the _Queen?_ I thought the magical world's supposed to be kept secret?"

The blonde woman rubbed her temples, but gave him a small smile. "To be honest, every old pureblooded family nowadays has at least one member of the Royal Family in their family-threes. The really old ones more so than the others – that includes yours. Do you really think the Royals don't know about the hidden world they reign over? The Minister of Magic acts directly under the Queen. He has the same position in our world as the Prime Minister in the Muggle World."

Harry only blinked in response, trying to process everything he had just heard.

Narcissa put her head on her hand an sighed. "I thought that at least my cousin would've informed you of your heritage when he first met you. Merlin help, I would've, if I'd seen you in those rags you wear."

"Can you stop nagging on my clothing?" he snapped suddenly irrated. "I myself would_ love_ to burn them, but you don't have to rub it under my nose!"

Narcissa surprisingly wasn't angry at his tone of voice and instead smiled and then started chuckling. An expression of feelings, that definitely suited her, Harry noted.

Just then Fleur entered the living-room and a soft scent of lavender reached Harry's nose. He smiled at her when she sat down next to Narcissa and then frowned. "So… what exactly does that mean for me? Being a future Lord I mean?"

Narcissa leaned forwards once more. "Well, first you have to learn about the old-pureblooded ways and-"

"No way I'm becoming such a biased idiot!" Harry angrily bit out.

"That's not what she was trying to say Potter!" snapped Draco, who also had come back and dumped a stack of books, parchments and quills on the table in front of Harry. "You need to know the old traditions and mannerisms to know what you can and can't do."

Harry sneered at him and the two Malfoys blinked, while Fleur simply took one of the books from the table and started flipping through the pages. "No thanks, I think I know quite well what those old traditions entail, thank you very much."

"Oh, and that would be?", asked Draco with a raised eyebrow.

"Inbreeding, killing non-purebloods and generally being an asshole."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Oh would you just stop sprouting such nonsense? Now you're a biased idiot yourself! Do you honestly want to tell me that you think the Weasleys or the Longbottoms have ever killed a half-blood or a muggleborn?"

"Um…"

Narcissa chuckled once more at the expression on his face. "It may be true, that all of those old families are somewhat related to each other, and yes, I hate to admit that fanatic families like the Blacks, the Lestranges, Gibbons, the Wilkes and the Malfoys participate in inbreeding. But that doesn't make all families the same. In fact, your great-grandmother Dorea was a Black. She married Charlus Potter I believe. I was named after her, because she was my grandfather's sister."

"We're related?" asked Harry baffled.

Draco snorted. "If you can still call it relation… then we two must be fifth cousins trice-removed or something like that."

Harry groaned and rested his head on his hands. "Great… I'm somehow related to nearly everyone I can't stand!"

"Thanks…" mumbled Draco slightly insulted and Harry couldn't help to throw a small smirk in his direction.

"Well, I believe it's better to go in depth about this subject to a later date," said Narcissa and Harry nodded, a little dissapointed.

The blond woman then stood up and gestured to the books and parchments on the table – suddenly the slightly strict and aristocratic air around her was back. "I expect you two to start with your work immediately. I want you to have it out of the way as soon as possible so that we can begin your training."

Harry and Draco threw each other a look and knew that they both thought the same thing. Doing their homework would definitely take a while…

* * *

**Well then, I hope you liked it. Don't forget the Reviews! (^_^)**


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